HERNDON, Va. -

In an effort to provide greater dealer support nationwide, Audi of America revealed late last week it will be creating a new Central Region, which will represent 22 percent of the company’s U.S. dealerships. 

The fourth region in the country for the OEM will be based near Chicago and is set to open for business in January.

Upon its launch, the fourth region will assume responsibility for markets now covered by the Audi of America Eastern, Southern and Western regions, the company explained.

It will comprise 13 states and 62 of the 275 Audi dealerships across the country, officials added.

"We see the potential for Audi to make greater inroads in the U.S. heartland," said Mark Del Rosso, chief operating office of Audi of America. "Adding an entirely new Central Region organization also frees up our teams in the other regions to focus more on the needs of our dealer partners and customers in the rest of the country. It's a clear validation that we intend to achieve our growth goals and establish Audi as the leading premium brand in the U.S.”

Audi also shared who it has appointed to run the new region.

The new organization will be led by Ken Brusca as the Audi central region director.

Highlighting the execs career in more detail, Brusca joined Audi of America in 2005 and has over 30 years of industry experience.

Most recently, he served as region operations manager for the Eastern Region, where he managed both new and CPO sales as well as the distribution process.

Prior to taking his current position, he held management positions at Chase Automotive Finance, Ford  and Volvo Cars of North America, where he served as Canadian chief executive officer

Audi is continuing to develop staffing plans for the new region ahead of its official launch next year, officials said.

The region headquarters will be based in the O'Hare business district outside of Chicago with details on the specific office space to be revealed.